No Group Rehearsal Saturday, February 25

Note that on Saturday, February 25, we will not have
rehearsal. Most of our 7th and 8th grade students, as well as
Mr. Kramer and Mr. Neujahr, will be in Clintonville for the
Northeast Conference Solo and Ensemble event.

The month of March is a bit odd, in that we will only have
rehearsal on Saturday, March 4. Because of the FVL Musical,
WELS National Band Festival, and Spring Break, we only have that
one date available for rehearsal. Because of that, please
make EVERY EFFORT to have your band students at that rehearsal.

For Solo and Ensemble information, refer to the two previous
Director's Updates

Schedules and a map of Clintonville HS was sent via email to all
families who are participating. If you have misplaced them,
they can be found at the following links:

Band Picture Day - Saturday, March 4

Here is information from Jyll Scanlon, from Scanlon
Studios:

Hello FVL Band
Families, We are excited to have the opportunity to photograph your
bands again!
Scanlan Studios will be photographing one Group photo and One
individual photo for you to view. We will post your band's images
by the end of the day on March 8th. You will receive an email with
directions on how to view and order online.

You will have the opportunity
to place your order until midnight on March 19th. Anyone that
places their order in this first round will receive their order
(from Mr. Neujahr) the week of March 27th.

Scanlan Studios will have the order page shut off for one
week, so that we can process the first set of orders.We will then send out another email when we turn the order
page back on. Any orders that are placed in the second order will
be processed the following Monday from your order date. Any order
placed in this time will have to pay shipping or pick up at the
studio, only the first set of orders will be delivered to you by
Mr. Neujahr.

Please let us know if you have any
questions.

Thank you once again for letting us be a part of
your picture day!!Thank you,Jyll & Sam Scanlan

We will be taking time during our rehearsal for the
photos. We will be taking formal group photos in uniform, so
band students are to bring black shoes and socks, white shirts, and
black pants for the day. These items are the same as what
they wore to the November concert. To save time, they are
certainly welcome to wear these clothes for the
rehearsal. We will distribute the concert vests on that
morning.

We could use a few parents for both the Cadet Band and the
Concert Winds to help with vest distribution that morning. If
you can assist, please let Mr. Neujahr know via
email.

WELS Band Festival - HOUSING NEEDED - Can you help?

On the weekend of March 17-19
(Friday through Sunday), Fox Valley Lutheran High School will host
the 2017 WELS National Band Festival. We will welcome students and
directors from 19 WELS high schools from across the country.
Participants will come from schools in Arizona, Illinois, Michigan,
Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin. The festival
will bring in approximately 110 musicians and 20 directors from
around the WELS for a weekend of rehearsals, followed by a festival
concert on Sunday, March 19, beginning at 2:00. FVL last hosted
this festival in 2007, and we are very much looking forward to the
opportunity again!

This is your chance to be part of
welcoming these musicians from across the country to FVL and your
home. Families are needed to provide Bed & Breakfast for groups
of students Thursday evening, March 16 through Sunday noon, March
19. Groups can be as small as 2 and as large as you can provide
for, bring their own sleeping bag, use your extra bed or an air
mattress in a cozy room. There are many options to provide a
welcome resting place following a long day of travel or rehearsal.
In addition to B&B, hosts would need to transport students from
and to FVL and provide an opportunity to join in worship on Sunday,
March 19.

Rehearsal on Saturday, February 18

We will have rehearsal on Saturday, February 18. This is the
same weekend as the FVL Schools Basketball Tournament. We
realize that some kids may be involved in basketball games as
players or cheerleaders. That is OK, and students should be
with their teams. Most students should be able to make some
or all of the band rehearsal, however, and we ask that if it is at
all possible to attend band. Many band students wear their
uniforms/warm ups on that day to rehearsal, which is totally
acceptable. Even if students arrive late or have to leave
early, that is better than not coming at all. Last year we
actually had very good attendance on Tournament weekend, since most
of the kids are at FVL anyway cheering on their teams.

Members of the Concert Winds will be receiving new music on
Saturday. For students who cannot attend rehearsal due to BB
games, they should try to stop in and at least pick up the new
music, as well as turn in music that was performed at
Winterfest.

Here is a summary of our remaining February dates:
February 18 - Regular rehearsal
February 25 - Solo Festival for 7th and 8th grade
students; No rehearsal for Cadet/Concert
Winds

The month of March is a bit odd, in that we will only have
rehearsal on Saturday, March 4. Because of the FVL Musical,
WELS National Band Festival, and Spring Break, we only have that
one date available for rehearsal. Because of that, please
make EVERY EFFORT to have your band students at that rehearsal.

Solo and Ensemble notes for February 25

Note that on Saturday, February 25, we will not have rehearsal.
Most of our 7th and 8th grade students, as well as Mr. Kramer
and Mr. Neujahr, will be in Clintonville for the Northeast
Conference Solo and Ensemble event.

This is the same festival that the FVL high school band and choir
students will be attending. FVL has about 30 events
entered, including instrumental solos and ensembles, choral solos
and ensembles, many piano solos, among other events. The FVL
Schools Band Program also has about 30 solo events entered!
Most are class B or C, but we do have a few class A solos
entered as well.

This event will feature several performance sites, with rooms
designated for vocal, piano, woodwind, percussion, and brass
events. In addition to solos, there will be many different
ensembles performing, including jazz ensembles, brass and woodwind
ensembles, show choirs, and so on. I would strongly encourage
our students to observe as many solos and other ensemble events
during the day. All of the event sites are open to the
public, so parents and students can sit in on performances
throughout the day.

There is quite a bit of information in the Update for February 4
for students performing a solo. Please refer to that page for
information on what to wear, student introductions, and so on.

An email was sent to all parents of students who are performing a
solo with a preliminary schedule. The final schedule will be
sent to us early next week, and at that time I will send another
email with final schedule, maps, and any other important
information.

Brochures for the WELS Summer Band Camp will be available for pick
up at Saturday's rehearsal.

Many of our students have attended this camp in recent years, and
they have all had a wonderful time! The week-long overnight
camp takes place at WLHS in Milwaukee and is happening June
18-23! This year's theme is "Let's Celebrate!" and they are more
than excited to share this wonderful week of fun, learning, and
musical growth with our students. The camp is open to
students entering 6-9th grade in the 2017-2018 school
year.

The camp has a very nice website with information, such as contact
information, cost, and registration forms at WELS Summer Band
Camp.

The WELS Summer Band Camp Parent Letter has a lot more information
as well. Go to the link for a bit more information on what
the students will experience at the camp.

No Rehearsal on Saturday, February 4

This week is a scheduled break for Saturday rehearsal.
Please note that we WILL rehearse next Saturday, February 11.
Many of our schools have off on Thursday and Friday next week
due to the Teacher's Conference.

Here is a summary of our remaining February dates:
February 11 - Regular rehearsal
February 18 - Regular rehearsal
February 25 - Solo Festival for 7th and 8th grade students;
No rehearsal for Cadet/Concert Winds

Information for Students who are performing a solo on February
25

Solo day is fast approaching! Mr. Kramer and Mr. Neujahr have
been working with most of our 7th and 8th graders for the past two
months to prepare for this day. The students have been
improving each week with their solo preparations, and they should
do very well!

Our Solo and Ensemble Festival will be held at Clintonville High
School on Saturday, February 25. This festival includes, in
addition to our FVL Schools Band students, FVL HS, Waupaca HS,
Clintonville HS, and St. Martin Lutheran Grade School (from
Clintonville).

We will receive the preliminary schedules and other information for
February 25 this next week sometime. I should be able to post
links to the schedules in next week's update.

IMPORTANT: If for some reason your son or daughter
will NOT be performing their solo on February 25, please Email Mr. Neujahr as soon as possible
so he can notify the Festival Manager and the schedules can be
updated.

Following is information for students who are playing a solo on
February 25. Mr. Neujahr and Mr. Kramer will also discuss
these items with the students at lessons as they prepare for that
day.

Attire: Dress up for your events. No
jeans, T-shirts, crew-neck shirts, tennis shoes, etc. Ties
are recommended for guys, ladies in dress/skirt or other nice
attire. Make an excellent first impression for the
adjudicator!

Music: You are responsible for all of your
music for the day, including your judge's copy. Remember
that NO PHOTOCOPIES are allowed for a WSMA
event. You are also responsible for your own instrument!
Number the measures in your judge's copy and your copy. This
MUST be done prior to playing. Mr. Neujahr and Mr. Kramer
will be providing the required 2 original "store bought" copies of
the music if they don't already have the extra copy. All
students have their own solo book already, but they will need the
additional copy for the adjudicator.

Homerooms/Case and Coat Storage: The CHS Gym
will be used as the homeroom for all schools. A section of
the bleachers will be labled showing each school's designated
area.

Be Prompt! Leave early and allow plenty of
time to get to Clintonville HS. You will also need extra time to
find your designated warm-up area and performance rooms. Generally,
you should try to be in the designated warm-up site 20-30 minutes
before your scheduled performance time. It is a good idea to
check your performance site to see if they are ahead or behind
schedule. Your performance time may be shifted earlier or
later depending upon how the day is progressing in that particular
site.

For those using an accompanist: Remember to tell
your accompanist the necessary times and room numbers, etc. A
nice card and gift of money for all of the time put in by your
accompanist is recommended.

Student Introductions

WSMA requires that students introduce their solo. You may
write it out and bring your sheet with you. You may also
memorize it. Rehearse what you are going to say! The
introduction outline is as follows: